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The End of an Era

My back-to-school shopping days are over.

This past year was the first in 18 that I didn’t have to go back-to-school shopping. Yes, I had to go with my son to buy a few notebooks when we dropped him off for college, but the whole “let’s plan a day and buy supplies”; no. I’ll admit, I was a bit sad. It was, for all intents and purposes, the end of an era.

I actually was one of those people who got my back-to-school shopping done early. We’d head out about the middle of July, just after the stores started moving out the patio chairs, barbecue grills and hoses to make way for the notebooks, paper, pencils, glue, everything the kids would need to get them through another year.

We’d have lunch, probably a bagel at the neighborhood bagel shop, and then head to get our supply shopping done. It was kind of a big day for us. And now, sadly, it’s over. I guess I’ll just have to wait for grandkids and tag along when my kids have to take their kids shopping.

I did get a nice fix while working on our back-to-school shopping guide in our June issue, available at plymouthmag.com starting June 1. Until then, here’s your fix—some shops we’ll be including: